Week 11... Marathon training ramps up...18 miler out of town on an unfamiliar trail... getting it done

I didn't plan on running Monday after the trail race Sunday.  But then the weather was perfect, and I realized that I really wanted to run . I really felt like running (ala Forrest Gump).  So I did. For 6 miles.  It was 75 degrees but the dew point was low at 55 and humidity 50%.  It was pretty much a perfect day to run.  Slight breeze in the air as well.  And my pace was 10:07 which I didn't expect after the trail race.  I'd been loving the change in the weather but I knew it wouldn't stay that way all week.

Wednesday run was another lower humidity day.  Temperature was down a bit, too.  However, my legs finally "felt" the trail run and 6 miler from Monday and pace was slower.  But this was fine as I felt pretty good through most of it. Most of the runners and walkers on the metropark path seemed happier as the humidity and temperature were lower than they had been in a while for about 3 days straight.  But that was about to change, unfortunately a turn to hotter temperatures started Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday did a 4 miler in the neighborhood.  Pace was 10:53 as I was showing some increased fatigue, higher temperatures and humidity... Decided to think about how to approach the 18 miler Saturday . I'd been trying to plan for a course since I'd be out of town and not as familiar with the area.  Did some mapping on the computer and came up with a plan.

Saturday was the out of town run.  It was a trail system I had run on before, but never this far south.  It runs along the WV side of the Ohio River in Wheeling, WV (Wheeling Heritage Trail).  I previously did a 13 miler after my beach trip on part of this trail.  This time I had 18 to do and planned to go south for about 6-7 miles (according to my calculations) and then planned to connect to another trail and go east.  However, I changed my plan. I realized if I continued north past my start point, there would be more shade opposed to heading east.  I also had never been on the east part of the trail that connected to this one and I decided it was better not to venture somewhere I wasn't sure of.  I had run the north part of this trail many times in the past and was familiar with it.  So that's what I did... also encountered some beautiful views during the run

 Wanted to set a steady pace between 10:45-11 and for the most part I was able to achieve this (10:49 average pace).  A few times I slowed down and a few times I sped up.  But I kept an eye on my pace and tried to be mindful.

This was not the view from the trail, but a view from another bridge of an area that I ran past (WV side of the river).  The trail goes next to this park.

One of the bridges I passed

Went past this historic tobacco factory which was on the south end of the city

Scenic view coming back.  I enjoyed this part of the run, as there were a lot of clearings and I could see the Ohio side of the river and all the bridges very well.

At the north end of the trail when I started back, there was a dam and locks.  I was glad to see this, as I knew I was approaching the end of my run (I've run this part before).

I was pleased to get a 18 mile distance PR on Saturday.  This was a heavy week mileage wise.  It was important to bring electrolyte water (nuun) a few gu's and a honey stinger waffle that I had at the half way point of this run.  I also brought my camelbak 50oz of water with me.  The backpack was a bit heavy at the start but I really needed it. In my mapping, I also noted where a few gas stations, convenience stores, and other places that might have restrooms were located.  I think this is an important thing to do when one is doing long runs (especially solo long runs).

Next week mileage goes down a bit.  Then the following week, I have a 19 miler scheduled.  Really just 2 extremely long runs remain before the marathon.  So I have to try to get that done in order to feel good about it.  I know 26.2 is going to be a bit more than 20, but from what I've heard people usually can run 26.2 if they've done their training.  I'm not sure it's a good idea to go too much more than 20 miles... however I have heard varying opinions on the mileage of one's last long run... Either way, I think sticking to 20 is my plan.

Week 12 will be 5/8/5/13 for a total of 31 miles.

Week 10... Good running and a Review of the Hoot Half Marathon (Trail Run)

An interesting 5 mile run on Monday.  Had planned to do it at around 7:30 am as part of my morning routine but then a really bad thunderstorm was predicted around 8:00.  It was predicted, but didn't really get underway until maybe 8:30.  So I probably could have done it then, but the radar looked scary and I wasn't sure about risking it.  I estimated I'd be able to get a few miles in but if a really bad storm broke out, it could be a bad plan.

As a result, ended up going to work and running 5 over my lunch break.  Ran down a different trail but I did enjoy it.  Ran past the University stadium where the marching band was practicing.  Made for kind of a fun (but humid after the storm passed) kind of run.  Had to stop a few times due to heat, but overall it was a good one.  The only thing that's weird about running at work is then I have to feel gross for the rest of the day.  But you do what you have to do, right?

Wednesday I tried something new and ran to the local metropark.  It worked out well to get 8 miles in from my starting point and I needed a change of scenery.  You can only run your neighborhood or areas near where you work so many times and you get tired of it . Especially during marathon training.  So I kept hearing we were to get a bad storm that day again.  Mostly just rain, but downpours.  Lightning and thunder were not predicted and looking at accuweather again it was just a steady light rain.  So I decided to go for it . And I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  I'm not a huge fan of rain soaked shoes but I managed to pretty much keep a 10:30 pace the entire time with minimal stopping.  One stop at halfway to gu up and go.  Solo run with new headphones, visor and pouring down rain but it was very nice.  Makes me remember why I ever started running in the first place during runs like this one.

Thursday was a shorter run, only 4 miles this time.  Managed a similar pace but it was a little bit more humid and less rainy.  Nothing too exciting about this one.  Just a typical neighborhood run.

Sunday was my first trail half marathon and my 5th ever half marathon.  I knew this would be a tough 13.1 as I looked at last year's times and found a few people I have known in my running group who run either the same pace or faster than I am in a typical race.  For the 10k, a person about my same pace (maybe slightly faster) had about 1:30... for a 10k.  For the half, one of the fastest people I've run with had just over 3 hours for the half.  So... I braced myself for a tough trail race.  Over 3 hours, most likely (and it was 3:35).  What makes this one so hard is that there are tons and tons of tree roots, rocks, creeks, bridges, downed trees to hop over, etc all along the path.  Most of the path is either grass or dirt with some gravel parts (but not many).  The elevation changes are constant. They aren't actually as bad as the elevation changes in the Wheeling Ogden Half that I wrote about in May but it feels like it because of all the roots and rocks and mud...

Yes, and my Garmin tracked a path that looked very similar to this!
I averaged a 16:00/mile pace.  But the funny thing was, I felt like I was moving the entire time.  There were a few stops but not many.  A group of 4 of us did the trail run and I think all of us fell at least one time (or more) over tree roots or some other obstacle.
The place actually is very beautiful and scenic.  I'd love to go there and just to a leisurely hike some day with my family.  The problem on this trail run was that to look at the scenery while running meant that you might forget to look at your feet and go flying over a tree root and injuring yourself!
I'm thankful for my awesome running friends for making it be actually not that bad.  I think doing it alone would be super tough.
Was very grateful to see some running buddies volunteering along the course at the aid stops. We did ok until mile 11.5 where it wasn't clearly marked where to go and we got to this section that went out onto the road.  We're running for maybe 0.2 mile and my friends and I start to wonder, what happened to all the arrows.  This doesn't seem right... We head back and retrace our steps. Turns out we missed an arrow.  I was pretty exhausted by that point about 3 hours in and made a joke about how maybe we slipped into another dimension and went to another period in time... Because it looked like a deserted finish line where we ended up.  We joked that maybe we had been out so long that they packed it up.  Luckily, it was just a wrong turn.  I was a little bitter about having to finish up 0.4 miles going back in the woods for a second after I saw how close we were to the finish.  The race organizers felt it was 0.4 mile short so they had everyone do that.  I think after getting lost for about 0.4 miles I felt like I should be done... after all, I already did the 13.1... I actually ended up with 13.49 for my final mileage.  But it's ok, we did it.  It was a relief to see our friend from the running group cheering us all in at the end.  Felt so good to finish!

A flat section of the trail

Traversing some of the terrain.  Don't let this picture fool you.  Tons of roots sticking up every where causing falls, and some sprained ankles from what I heard from other runners.  Really have to be careful on these trails.  They even do a winter series here!  Ice plus tree roots... wow!

Beautiful part of the lake trail where it's pretty flat.  There weren't many sections like this!

Anyway, I did get my mileage in for the week.

Week 11 should be a doozy.  6 / 8 / 4 / 18.... for a total of 36 miles.  Probably going to be one of my longer marathon training weeks with a nice wrap up on a new trail this Saturday.  I'm going to have to track the path I'm taking (out of town again) and try to figure out where some convenience stores, gas stations and fast food places are along the way.  I know there is a distinct possibility I may need to stop in somewhere to get water and other essentials.  I've learned now... 

Week 9 ... I'm starting to wonder if it's just getting hotter every week

This week was a high mileage week without question.  Unquestionably the highest mileage week I've ever done to this point.

And yet it seems to just get hotter and hotter as the summer goes on.

Another issue was that with the new school year starting I had to change the timing of my runs a little bit to work with bus stop pickup.

I also started to lengthen the weekday runs per my schedule which can make it difficult to get it done before it really starts to heat up.

Monday - 6 mile run.  Was able to do this one in the morning.  I had the best pace this week with 10:01 for this one.  My Wednesday and Thursday runs were 10:19 and 10:27... The heat wasn't as bad for Monday's run so it allowed me to feel ok about a faster pace.

Weds - This was a tough one only because I had to start at almost 8am due to the bus schedule for school.  But I was able to get my 7 miles in.  Definitely needed to take some breaks for the heat.

Thurs - was able to get up early to do this one.  I was grateful for that.  It was a 4 miler so also went by fairly quickly.  Pace was slower, but felt pretty good about this one.  Going early in the morning makes a big difference.  As soon as the summer sun comes up, it really increases the uncomfortable feeling.

Saturday - 77 degrees and 74 dew point when I started at 6:30 am.  Thankfully, I had a friend meeting me for my 17 miler.  She was willing to do 9 with me.  Which is always a help, no matter how many miles a person can hang out for support.  It was great to catch up with her and things went great.  We purposely set a slower pace at 11/mile.  Everything was great until the heat started to get to me and my stomach did not feel good around mile 6.5-7.  I kept hoping for a rest spot but I knew the nearest one was a convenience store at mile 8.  I made it but my friend moved on... which was fine and I told her to because I wasn't sure how long I would hold her up and I knew she wanted to be done.  The running store was only a mile from there so I had confidence I'd make it there eventually.  That break pretty much re-energized me and the weather turned.  Clouds rolled in as well as a nice breeze.  I decided to head to the running store and try to finish up my remaining 8 miles.

Before this 17 miler (which is my distance PR now) I had done a 16 miler back in April on a snowy day.  This day was the complete opposite.  I really wanted to have that distance PR.  Since the running store does a 5 mile loop I didn't want to get so discouraged that I'd just do the 5 and finish at 14 miles.  So I did what I felt was the most logical way to get 17 without quitting.  I did 1.5 miles of the 5 mile loop, came back to the running store, got a drink of water, and finished up with the 5 mile loop.  The running store employees are always so encouraging and I love being able to have that oasis there to drop in on.  Stopped due to the heat several times in people's yards in the shade.  Sat down in the grass a few times.  Was overjoyed to see sprinklers and run through them.  Also this was my first run with a camelbak which really helped me.  50 oz of water was needed!  And brought nuun water as well as some gels to replenish energy

Another thing I'm working on is what to eat before a long run.  I usually don't want to eat but probably should.  I know I'd have more energy.  But it's hard to know what won't cause stomach irritation, especially with the hot temperatures.

I sit here watching the Olympic Women's Marathon.  It's amazing how fast these ladies are.  Especially when the announcer says they are "holding back" their pace and they are at mile 19 and 1:44 into it.  That's incredible.  Under 2 hours is my dream half marathon time...

Next week I cut back a little which is going to be good for me.

Week 10 - 5 / 8/ 4 / 13... the 13 mile is a trail race that I'm just going to have fun with and not worry about the time.  30 miles next week.

Week 8 - Or why one should never attempt to run in 90 degree weather and 72 dew point...

This week was a lot hotter than previous weeks.  I didn't that that was possible after North Carolina, but somehow most of the lows never made it into the 60s this week.  The temperatures of my running days were: 84 on Monday (but I did go later in the day - 6pm, to be fair); 70 Wednesday 6am; 72 Thursday 6:30 am; and then Friday I ran my long run early.  15 miles at 7pm and it was 90 degrees.  Never doing that again!

All of my runs were over a 10 minute pace.  The 15 miler was a 11 pace.  But it needed to be and I'm actually pretty glad I took some walking breaks because that's what my body was telling me to do.

Monday I ran a little later in the day because my long run from the previous week had been so late that I didn't want to go again in the morning.  Also I didn't want to wait until Tuesday knowing I had a long one Wednesday.  And it was hot, but really not too bad.

Wednesday ran with two other people and it went well.  Then they told me they were thinking of doing their long run Friday night.  I thought about this possibility.

Thursday did a 4 miler, early in the morning and went average... 10 ish pace, warm weather for 6:30am

Friday was the hardest run I've ever done in my life (thus, the title of this entry).  I had made up my mind that I'd do my long run Friday.  I'm not really an evening runner but a few people had agreed to meet up and I thought I'd join them for a change and sleeping in Saturday.  My pace overall didn't end up fast but it was really on target for the conditions when I look at it now (11:20).  At the time I was really disappointed that I felt so sluggish but it was actually an ok pace. I'm starting to realize that I need to back off pace quite a bit and I've been more successful at working on that (maybe thanks to the temperatures and humidity.

But nothing prepared me for this . The first 5 miles were brutal.  90 degrees, sun was still out.  I actually thought of giving up, even this early.  Giving up usually doesn't enter my mind this soon.  I typically stay pretty positive and try to complete the miles I have scheduled.  That's how I knew this might be trouble.  The other thing was I forgot my phone, which I never do.  It completely throws me off to not have background music.  So I'm facing one of the longest runs I've ever done (my record is 16 miles) with no music, extreme heat and humidity.

But I had committed and pushed through.  A friend of ours was joining us for 10 of the 15 miles.  We got to her car and she was kind enough to get us water, gatorade, fuel... seeing her car was like an oasis in the desert.  So we took a break and then continued.  I started to feel on and off like I was going to throw up.  Realized I needed to monitor for heat illness symptoms.  Decided to cut some of the running into intervals and throw some walking in there when I needed it.  One of my friends hung back with me and was encouraging.  There was a grocery store/gas station coming up.  She told me if we just made it there, we could rest.  I was having a lot of negative thoughts at that time but she turned on music on her phone and I tried to not let the thoughts take over.

Made it, rested, drank some smart water. Another friend was kind enough to bring cash and got us all water.  I hadn't thought we might stop somewhere and hadn't figured this in.  But I'm glad we did.  Really love my running friends... couldn't have done it without them.  The last 6 miles was running up a dark road (put on my headlight) and taking walking breaks when necessary.  My friends told me if I fell behind where they'd be headed next and the path was pretty much straight so it worked out.  Once I got to about 13 miles I figured I had it.  The main thing that bothered me at the end was I felt like I was holding others back and I didn't want to do that.  I just needed to take the walking breaks.  Without music, my thoughts really varied.  There were moments of negative thoughts, moments of random thoughts and then some positive ones (really more about being finished or getting to the next rest break, dreaming of what I might eat later).  On the way back, stopped at one of the runner's houses for some water/ice around mile 11.  Enjoyed the breaks when they came.

And eventually we finished.  But I don't think I'll do that again if it's that hot/humid.  It was certainly an adventure.  So glad all of us were there for each other.  And that is why I prefer to run with a group for long runs.  It makes a huge difference!

Next week... longer runs, continued build up of mileage... Week 9... 6/7/4/17 ... 34 miles total

Week 7 - at the beach

Well my first run of the week was a hot one again.  80 degrees, 73 for the dew point . I ran my 4 miles at a much slower pace, about 10:45.  The day before I had some weird sort of stomach issue and a fever, but thankfully I was somewhat over it by Tuesday morning  After the 9 miler on Sunday, I somewhat was used to the hot temperature and humidity.

Stores along the beach road at 5:45 am







Picture from newly finished Corolla Greenway


















Wednesday was a longer run, it was similar weather conditions and I had 6 miles planned.  It went better than expected and I got to explore a different part of the beach path and take a few more pictures... 11:05 average pace which was fine because the heat is hard and I was still partially recovering from random stomach issue.

Water tower from Wednesday's run.  Nice path they have here...











Knee pulling weirdness started right after that.  I think a part of that was going in the ocean this week and the way that the pull of the waves effects a person's legs and calves.  So I didn't assume it was the running that did this to me. Decided to take off Thursday and do my last 4 miler on Friday.

Friday's run was the hottest yet.  It was 81 degrees already at 5:40am.  Decided to try running a short distance up to the walkup for the beach and then take shoes off, run along the shoreline and go back.... As anyone knows, running along the beach in running shoes/avoiding chafing due to sand is harder than expected.  But it seemed to work out and the 4 miles went fast. 10:40 average pace.  Also took a few pictures of the experience.

Sand is a lot harder to run on logistically than one might think.

But I'm glad I caught the sunrise!

Due to travel I decided to postpone my long run until Sunday again.  I had 13 miles scheduled.

Ended up doing it Sunday morning.  Unfamiliar trail in some places.  Usually I'm not traveling so I wouldn't typically run on this trail... but it was what I needed to do so I got my 13 miles in there.  13.14 to be exact.  10:40 pace but that was just fine with me.  Humidity was a lot better in WV than it had been in NC last week.  And it was about 10 degrees cooler with no sun and mist on the mountains.  Elevation changes about 294 ft gain.  But I got it done.  Just in the nick of time to get over 100 miles for July 2016 (107.21 total when all was said and done).  First 100 mile month.

Week 8 is going to be possibly a 30 mile week! 5/6/4/15 long run...  This would be a first for me to get this many miles in a week.  Not sure if I'll do the 5 miler Monday night or Tuesday morning next week, but most likely in the AM....